As an illustrator for McDonnell Douglas in the 1980s and '90s, artist Don Roth honed his skills by painting and sketching intricate interiors of aircraft in the hopes of selling them to potential buyers. As a fine artist in 2013, Roth uses the same precise techniques to create whimsical scenes of animals; he hopes with the same outcome.

After accepting an early retirement in 1999, Roth knew he wanted to pursue fine art professionally, but was at a loss when it came to his subject matter. After a Huntington Beach gallery owner suggested he target tourists with typical Southern California scenes of surfers, Woodies, and colorful sunsets, Roth was uncertain about becoming one of the masses.

“I went home and said to my wife that, if I was going to be just one of many doing the same thing, I didn’t think we were going to have much of a shot,” Roth said during a recent phone interview. “Then she looked over at our cat sitting there and she said I should paint a picture of Leo driving a Woody. I looked at her like she had a screw loose.”

But Roth was up for anything and proceeded to paint his cat driving a Woody; the first work in what has become a 36-piece series depicting household pets in humorous situations like driving a stagecoach or skateboarding down a staircase handrail.

Though he was not the first artist to work in pet portraiture, Roth’s experience with aviation art proved beneficial in standing out from the pack.

“Realism was drilled into me for 15 years. It was my technique and I couldn’t really break out of,” he said. “There were a lot of people doing pet portraits that were sort of cartoonish but mine all looked like photos. People even asked me how I got my cat to sit still and hold on to the steering wheel long enough to take a picture.”

Known by his fans as the Norman Rockwell of cats, Roth hopes that his work will expand the minds of those who think that enjoying art is just for the stuffy elite.

“Art is a subjective thing,” Roth said. “I think we’ve been brainwashed by art critics to believe or have the notion that art is a very serious thing and you should buy so-and-so’s painting because it will be a valuable investment, etc. My work is more for the every man. It’s whimsical. It’s fun. It’s something you put up in Johnny’s bedroom because it makes him smile.”

A Menifee resident, Roth is familiar to Inland Empire residents as an art instructor for the City of Temecula’s outstanding community service classes. After years of showing the work of his students at the Gallery at the Merc in Old Town, the city offered him the opportunity to show his own work at the venue from Friday through April 5.

“I’m going to have maybe 10 to 15 original paintings and a half a dozen or so prints so I can have a wider range of price points for people who don’t want to spring for the cost of an original,” Roth said.

An exhibit kick-off reception will be held on Friday evening where attendees can meet the artist while he gets to enjoy their reactions to his work.

“It’s sort of my claim to fame that my work is very informal and will put a smile on anybody’s face, no matter how bad of a mood you’re in,” Roth said. “It’s just a fun experience to look at these paintings. It sort of lifts you up and makes you not take things so seriously and that makes me feel good. When I see a young person or an adult just gawking at my work and giggling, that just warms my heart.”